Operating rod



F. H. KAYLER OPERATING ROD April 25, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 20, 1948 April 25, 1950 KAYLER 2,505,408

OPERATING ROD Filed Jan. 20, 1948 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

gral with the associated flanges 34 and 38 and web 36. It will be observed that the closed end of one of the grooves is disposed at one side of the jaw and the closed end of the other groove is disposed at the opposite side of the jaw so that the ends of the grooves open in opposite directions for a purpose hereinafter described.

The rod is held against accidental rotation by means of a plunger 44 mounted within the jaw, said plunger having an upstanding hollow cylindrical body 46 closed at its lower end by a head 48 (Figure 4), the latter being provided with outwardly extending guide lugs 50, 50 disposed at diametrically opposite sides of the body 46 at the lower end thereof. The lugs 56, 50 extend into substantially vertical guide slots or grooves 52, 52 formed on the adjacent sides of legs 30 and 32, these slots being open at their upper ends and at their lower ends being terminated by abutment stops 54, 54 located above the bottom web 28 a distance slightly greater than the thickness of the rectangular portion 26 of the rod, as best seen at 55 (Figure 3), for a purpose hereinafter described.

The abutment stops 54, 54 engage the lugs 56, 50 as at 56, 56 (Figure 2) when the coupler is in locked position, in which position the rod portion 26 seats on its lower side as at 58 on the fiat bottom web 28 as hereinafter more fully explained. It will be noted thata generous clearance is provided between the rod and the adjacent portions of the jaw and that the plunger in its lowermost position is spaced vertically from the rod, whereby the rod is permitted to freely angle and move endwise within the jaw to accommodate movement and horizontal and vertical angling of the coupler to which the rod is connected. Inasmuch as there is no pressure on the rod, wear thereof and of the jaw is considerably reduced and there is no interference with the function of the centering means (not shown), if any, of the coupler 24, as will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

A substantially vertically disposed actuating spring 60 is positioned within the hollow body 46 of the plunger and seats at its lower end as at 64 on the inner surface of the head of the plunger and is positioned on the head by an upstanding lug 66 formed on the head.

The upper end of the spring is seated as at 68 against a closed end 76 of a hollow tubular spring cap or abutment member 12 sleeved over the body 46 of the plunger. The upper end of the spring is positioned in the cap by a depending boss 14 formed on the closed end thereof.

At the lower or open end of the spring cap are formed diametrically opposed, outwardly extending locking lugs 16 and 18 received within the before-mentioned grooves 46 and 42, respectively, for locking the cap with the jaw. It will be understood that when the cap is locked with the jaw, the spring is compressed between the spring cap and the plunger, the spring urging the cap upwardly and thus the locking lugs 16 and I3 thereon against the undersurfaces of respective flanges 38, 38, and the plunger is urged downwardly until the guide lugs 50, 50 of the plunger abut against the stops 54, 54.

To operate the coupler mechanism from its locked position as shown in Figure 2 or 3, the handle is raised by manually rotating it in a counterclockwise direction as shown in phantom lines in Figure 4. It will be observed that as the handle is rotated from the position shown in Figure 2, the lateral camlike edges 80 and 82 of the flat portion 26 of the rod bear against and slide on the bottom wall 28 of the jaw and the lower surface of the head 48 of the plunger, as at 84 and 86, respectively (Figure 4) ,thus raising the plunger against the compressive resistance of the spring 60. The plunger in being raised is guided in its upward movement by the before-mentioned guide lugs 50, 50, riding in grooves 52, 52 of the legs.

It will be understood that the rotation of the rod and handle is limited to that of the coupler rotor assembly and that in the locked position of the coupler, the handle is substantially vertically positioned and the rod i in the position as shown in Figures 2 and 3 with portion 26 thereof seated flat on web 28 of the jaw. In the lockset position of the coupler, the rod assumes the position indicated in Figure 4 at Ilia in phantom lines, and the handle is in the position shown at 20a. In the full knuckle throw position of the rod l6b, as shown in solid lines, the handle is in the position indicated at 20b.

Inasmuch as the rod portion 26 is inclined from the vertical in the full knuckle throw position, release of the handle will effect a clockwise rotation of the handle (Figure 4) and rod under urging of spring 66, thus returning the handle to initial lock position, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the connection between the rod and rotor is such as will permit the rod with its handle to rotate to initial locked position while the coupler is still unlocked, the connection comprising a loop on the rod and an eye in the rotor. This is a feature desirable for safety so that the handle will not extend out when the coupler is unlocked. Accidental unlocking of the coupler due to rotation of the rod and handle during service movements of the car is prevented, the rod and handle being restrained from free rotation by the spring-actuated plunger 46.

To assemble my novel structure, the bracket is secured to the car body. The operating rod is connected at its inner hook end to the coupler rotor assembly in the usual manner. The outer end of the rod adjacent the handle is inserted into the jaw with the portion 26 of the rod seated on the bottom web 28 of the jaw. The plunger is then inserted into the jaw from the upper open end of said jaw, it being noted that the space between the inner edges of the upper flanges 38, 35,

as best seen in Figures 1 and 5, is sufilcient to accommodate the passage therebetween of the plunger with the guide lugs 56, 56. The guide lugs are fitted into the slots 52, 52 and the plunger is lowered until the guide lugs seat on the stops 54, 54. Then spring 60 is inserted into the body portion of the plunger and seated on the head of the plunger. Then the spring cap is sleeved over the body portion, the closed end of the cap seating on the upper end of the spring and the locking lugs on the cap being disposed between the legs of the jaw, as best seen in Figure 5.

To look the cap with the jaw, the spring is compressed by applying pressure on the cap and then rotating it in a clockwise direction (Figure 5). It will be noted that as the cap is rotated to insert the locking lugs 16 and 18 into grooves 40 and 42, respectively, lug 16, in order to enter groove 46, passes through a slot 84 between the lower edge of a web 86 (Figure 3) formed integral with the associate upper flange 3B and web 36 at the end of the groove 40 opposite that closed by web 43 and, similarly, lug 18 in order to enter groove 42 passes through a slot 88 (Figures 4 and 6) defined between the lower flange 34 associated acemes flange'38 and'web36fat the end'of groove 42 opposite the one. closed by the associated web 43. Rotation of the cap is limited. by abutment of the lugsflt and- 18' with respective webs 43,43, whereupon the pressure on the cap isi'releasedso that the extension of the: springjurgesathe locking lugs 16 and 18 against the undersides of the respective upper' flanges': 38, Bil-and holds the same between the webs 86 and 43 and 90 and 43 at the ends of the respective grooves 40 and'42, whereby the spring cap is afforded a bayonet interlock with the jaw. As an added safetyfeature to prevent rotation of the cap anddisassembly of the cap with respect to the jaw should the spring fail, the upper and lower flanges of leg 32 are extended at the partiallyclosedend of groove 42 laterally of leg 32, and a cotter key 92 is inserted through aligned openings in the extended portions of these flanges of leg 32.

To disassemble the structure, the cotter key is removed, the cap is urged downwardly under pressure and rotated in a counterclockwise direction (Figure whereupon the lugs 16 and 18 are retracted from grooves 40 and 42 through the partially closed ends thereof. The cap is lifted off the spring and plunger. The spring with the plunger is then lifted out of the jaw, thus permitting dismantling of the rod with the jaw in the usual manner.

It is to be understood that I do not wish to be limited by the exact embodiment of the device shown which is merely by way of illustration and not limitation as various and other forms of the device will, of course, be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. In a car coupler mechanism, the combination of a coupler having a lock operable therewithin, a rotary rod connected to said look, a support adapted to be carried by an associated vehicle and having a jaw with a fiat seat therein, a flat portion on said rod seated at one side on said seat, a plunger reciprocally mounted within said jaw adjacent the opposite side of said portion for yieldable abutment therewith after a predetermined rotation of said rod, abutment means on said support, spring means reacting against said plunger and said abutment means for urging the former toward said portion, and means connected to the rod for rotating the same when desired.

2. In an uncoupling mechanism for car couplers, rotatable lock-operating means on the coupler, a support adapted to be carried by an associted vehicle and having a jaw closed at one end, yieldable locking means carried by the jaw at the open end thereof and reciprocal within the jaw, a rotary rod connected to said lock-operating means and having a nonround portion extending loosely through said jaw between said yieldable locking means and the closed end of said jaw, and a handle connected to said rod for rotating the same, said yieldable locking means and said closed end of the jaw being formed and arranged to engage said portion of said rod after a predetermined rotation of said rod to yieldably resist rotation thereof.

3. In an uncoupling mechanism for car couplers, the combination of a rotary uncoupling member connected at one end to a coupler lock mechanism and having a n-onround portion adjacent its other end, means for rotating said uncoupling member, a support member adapted to carried y n "associated vehicle and: affording a seat for said portion of said uncoupling member, and means carried by said support member adjacent said portion of said uncou ling memberf'or cooperation therewithto limit free rotative movement of said uncoupling member, said means last-mentioned comprising aspring cap connected to said support member, a plunger reciprocal within said spring captoward and away from said portion, and-resilient means between said spring cap and plunger urging the latter toward said ortion for engagement there with upon rotation of the uncoupling fnei'nb'e'r.

4. In" an uncoupling mechanism for car couplers, rotatable lock-operating means on the coupier, a supportadapted to be carried by anassociated car, a seat on said support, yieldable portion being formed and arranged to provide cam means engageable with said seat and said abutment means after a predetermined rotation of said rod whereby free rotation of said rod is prevented.

5. In a car coupler operating mechanism, the combination of a coupler having a look, a bracket adapted to be secured to an associated vehicle and including a U-shaped portion, a rotatable operating rod connected to the lock and having a flat part seated in said U-shaped portion, means in said portion engageable with said fiat part of said rod to prevent unwanted rotation of said rod, said means including an abutment member movable within said portion toward and away from said flat part of said rod, a spring seat member having a bayonet interlock with said portion, spring means reacting between said members and urging said abutment member toward said rod and simultaneously maintaining said interlock between said portion and said spring seat member, and a handle for turning said rod upon the application of suflicient force thereagainst to overcome the resistance of said first-named means.

6. In an uncoupling mechanism for car couplers, rotary lock-operating means on the coupler, a bracket adapted to be secured to an associated vehicle and having a jaw, a rotatable rod connected to said lock-operating means and having a fiat portion extending through the jaw, means secured to the open end of said jaw cooperating with said portion of the rod and said jaw to prevent unwanted rotation of the rod, said means comprising a member slidably mounted in the jaw and movable toward and away from said flat portion, means on the jaw engageable with said member for limiting movement thereof toward said portion, whereby said portion is held loosely in said jaw, resilient means operatively associated with said member for urging the latter toward said portion and into engagement with said last-mentioned means, said fiat portion being formed and arranged to engage at one side thereof said jaw and at the opposite side thereof said member after a predetermined rotation of said rod whereby said rod is prevented from freely rotating further, and means connected to said rod and adapted to be operated to rotate said rod under sufiicient force to slide said member in a direction away from said portion against the resistance of said resilient means to operate said lock-operating means.

7. A coupler operating assembly including a bracket adapted to be secured to an associated car body, a coupler-operating member supported from said bracket within said jaw, yieldable abutment means on said jaw reciprocal toward and away from said member, said member, jaw and abutment means being formed and arranged to cooperate with each other to restrict free rotation of said member, said member being rotatable upon sufiicient rotative force being applied thereto to overcome the resistance of said abutment means to operate said coupler, and means for rotating said rod when desired.

8. 'In an uncoupling mechanism for car coupiers, rotatable lock-operating means onthe coupler, a rotary rod connected to said lock-operadapted to be carried by an associated vehicle and rotatably carrying said rod, abutment means on the rod at opposite sides of the axis of rotation thereof, and yieldable means cooperatively associated with said support means and said rod and engageable with the abutment means on said rod for yieldably resisting rotation of said rod; V

FRANK H. KAYLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: 

